Residents of Glenorie and the country stretching from the Hawkesbury to Cherrybrook left the Progress Association’s September monthly meeting with a long list of local worries and a sense that someone is working on them. Local MPs and councillors are going into bat on the New Line Road bottleneck, a proposed walking and cycling route from Glenorie to Dural, and the Maroota friable sandstone quarry.
The meeting also turned to the Hawkesbury Catchment, whose source sits near Goulburn and winds through 26 councils. Wildlife was on the agenda too, from the koalas and wombats living in the bush to the migratory birds of Broadwater, whose habitat the association says deserves protection because it sits on the community’s doorstep. A feature on those birds ran in the local magazine, and members are encouraging visitors and neighbours to read it and treat the area with respect.
Two practical matters will reach residents soon. The association is looking into where automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are available in Glenorie, and plans to share what people can access and how to use one in an emergency. Residents of The Hills and Hornsby can also scan a QR code to join the Four Weeks to Fire Ready program and get advice on preparing for this fire season.
The Glenorie Progress Association Inc will hold its Annual General Meeting at 7:15 pm on Thursday 8th October 2026 in the downstairs function room of the Glenorie RSL club. Anyone wanting a say can join for $20, $40 for two years or $80 for five years, through glenorieprogress.org/membership. The association prefers direct credit to avoid fees: account name The Glenorie Progress Association Inc, BSB 633 000, account number 159 557 131. Questions can go to [email protected] or 0418 432 587.
Glenorie’s amazing Migratory Birds
The birds behind the Broadwater concern are a story in themselves. Migratory birds travel vast distances each year between breeding grounds, usually in the Northern Hemisphere, and the summer feeding grounds of the south. One route is the Australasian flyway, which crosses more than 22 countries from the Arctic Circle through Asia to Australia and New Zealand. Some birds fly 9,000 to 11,000 kilometres non-stop to reach Australia.
Bird observers have recorded migratory species at Broadwater and the wetlands of Little Cattai Creek, which rises in Maroota, runs through Maroota Forest and reaches the Hawkesbury River. Among them is the Nathan’s Snipe, which travels from southeast Russia and Japan to spend the warmer months on the east coast. Once plentiful, it is now listed as Vulnerable.
Local birder Veeraj Sharma has documented Latham’s Snipes, Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Red-necked Stints and Common Greenshanks in the system, along with records of the Australian Painted Snipe, one of the country’s most elusive species. Broadwater lies only a few kilometres from Glenorie, surrounded by bushland and fairly isolated, but its conservation status needs respect, or careless behaviour could do damage.
